> General Discussions
Praying at the altar
brothertoall:
OH!!!
Longhorn you are a nut!! ;D ;D ;D ;D
bobby
keys2heaven:
Hey, thanks for the replies. But, just to clarify, I sometimes wonder if I am being prideful for NOT going down to the altar. Am I not humbling myself? Since attending our current church, I've been to the altar a handful of times. Most of the time its to pray with someone else (that I usually knew what was happening with that person and I kep quiet about it when praying). However, there have been a couple of times when I went down to pray and knew nothing about the person before going down but probably knew more than I should have afterwards (someone who knew about the situation was praying out loud for everyone to hear). That was the part I didn't like. I figure that if I were to know that God would have had me talk to that person one on one. That and there were times where I felt like you Bobby, wondering how the person got anything out of the altar call because it was so noisy! How could anyone concentrate?!?
Yes, there have been "shows" where people wanted to be noticed that they are in need of prayer or that they are praying over someone. But I found this to be more true when I was attending a pentecostal church than our current church.
I figured that this was some ritualistic, corporate setting "warm fuzzy" thing. I know that there are many needs, but wonder if allocating 5 minutes out of 1 hour service to pray in front of everyone is the way to do it!
rrammfcitktturjsp:
keys2heaven,
I feel like I was different than those who have responded from what I can read thus far. I hated with a purple passion alter call. It always convienently fell before the tithing. So after the preacher would take about 45 minutes with his 3 point sermon not counting all the dang tangents that had nothing to do with what he was preaching. We would go into alter call. I believe that our church had people chosen everyweek to do down to the alter just to get the rest of us to do it.
I always brought my mathematics college work and pulled it out during this part of the service, if I had not already done so during the sermon. The alter call would be a pitch to tithe as well. This nonsense could go on for about 10-15 minutes or even longer.
It got to be so bad, that I would come for the music and as soon as the preacher took the pulpit I was gone looking for the nearest strawberry daquirri to wash down the memories of that horrible experience.
I am glad that I do not have to deal with alter call. I would always feel so far away from the Lord at these times during the church. Never once in the bible did I see Jesus selling himself as preachers across this nation do in alter call. No wonder so many are scared away.
I hope that I did not rant and rave, but I am glad that I finally posted this.
Another reason why bible truths is so liberating. As long as Ray does not call for an alter call, I think and know that I will be okay. ;D
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
rrammfcitktturjsp:
To All,
I just remembered this. Going to pray down at the alter echoes of a paganistic practice. Have you ever heard of knocking on wood? Same principle. My advice is to pray to God from where you are or better yet to go into a secret and quiet place and pray to him there.
Churches know what they are doing when they employ this practice and like to play on emotions. I have been through the gamut of denominations and they all derive their religious practices from one source whether they wish to acknolwedge it or not, The Roman Catholic Church. And the RCC gets their stuff mainly through paganism as well as perverted Judiasm.
I love Ray becuase in learning the truth, I can have a pure and holy relationship with my God and his Son. I can love others of the similar thinkings and stuff like that. I do know why I feel so strongly about the Churches today, is becuase I was a victim to their head games and the heartache and the emptiness of knowing that it was not enough and that there was always more.
My advice, is to be careful. Really search your motives and your desires for wanting to do something. Use God's Word as the standard and you will be surprised how much you see.
Best of luck.
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
gmik:
Anne, boy do I remember those "danged tangents" aaarrrrggggghhhh!!!!
Josh, I was in the Assemblies for about 12 years and 2 of my kids went to a church of God college in Tenn. Talk about ritualistic- "the ALTAR CALL" tHEY treated it so sacred. I always felt I could pray where I was and would never go forward. One time when our son was about 10, he came into the sancturary to sit with us for some reason. When they had the altar call, for some reason he jumped out of his seat and went forward..He told the preacher he didn't know why he came down, so the preacher prayed over him for the "baptism of the Holy Spirit" He lifted my son's arms up and as Bobby put it "gibberish gibberish". OOHH, but wasn't I pleased!!!!! Well, my son, to this day (he's 26) doesn't know why he went up, and we laugh about the other stuff. Such pomp and show!
I love the getting rid of the physical and "stripping down" to the spirit between me & Jesus.
gena :)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version